Technology

Popular Reddit app Apollo may go out of business over Reddit’s new, unaffordable API pricing

May 31, 2023

The maker of Apollo, one of the most popular third-party mobile apps for browsing Reddit, may have to close up shop due to Reddit’s recently announced new API pricing terms. App developer Christian Selig shared today that Reddit’s API pricing appears to be bad news for the future of third-party Reddit apps as it would […]

Popular Reddit app Apollo may go out of business over Reddit’s new, unaffordable API pricing by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

While parents worry, teens are bullying Snapchat AI

May 31, 2023

While parents fret over Snapchat’s chatbot corrupting their children, Snapchat users have been gaslighting, degrading and emotionally tormenting the app’s new AI companion.  “I am at your service, senpai,” the chatbot told one TikTok user after being trained to whimper on command. “Please have mercy, alpha.”  In a more lighthearted video, a user convinced the […]

While parents worry, teens are bullying Snapchat AI by Morgan Sung originally published on TechCrunch

U.S. cars and trucks could soon be required to brake for you in an emergency

May 31, 2023

All new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. could soon be equipped with automatic emergency braking systems designed to prevent crashes with other vehicles and pedestrians, under a rule proposed Wednesday by the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. If adopted as proposed, nearly all U.S. light vehicles (gross vehicle weight rating […]

U.S. cars and trucks could soon be required to brake for you in an emergency by Kirsten Korosec originally published on TechCrunch

Character.AI, the a16z-backed chatbot startup, tops 1.7M installs in first week

May 31, 2023

Demand for AI via consumer mobile apps has been climbing, with market leader OpenAI’s ChatGPT mobile app topping half a million downloads in its first six days. Now, another AI app is touting its own launch success, as the a16z-backed Character.AI app is claiming to have pulled in over 1.7 million new installs in less […]

Character.AI, the a16z-backed chatbot startup, tops 1.7M installs in first week by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

A brief history of VR and AR

May 31, 2023

By the time Howard Rheingold’s “Virtual Reality” was published in 1991, the Sensorama was already a “slowly deteriorating” relic stashed away in a cabana next the pool at its inventor’s West Los Angeles home. Rheingold describes awe — even surprise — that the system was still operable almost 30 years after its introduction. “I was […]

A brief history of VR and AR by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch

EU and US lawmakers move to draft AI Code of Conduct fast

May 31, 2023

The European Union has used a transatlantic trade and technology talking shop to commit to moving fast and producing a draft Code of Conduct for artificial intelligence, working with US counterparts and in the hope that governments in other regions — including Indonesia and India — will want to get involved. What’s planned is a […]

EU and US lawmakers move to draft AI Code of Conduct fast by Natasha Lomas originally published on TechCrunch

Apple touts $1.1 trillion in App Store commerce in 2022, with $104B in digital sales

May 31, 2023

Ahead of Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference next week, the company is offering an update on its app ecosystem with the release of a new report detailing app earnings over the course of last year. In the analysis, released today, Apple says its App Store ecosystem generated $1.1 trillion in developer billings and sales in 2022, […]

Apple touts $1.1 trillion in App Store commerce in 2022, with $104B in digital sales by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

SellerX acquires US e-commerce roll-up rival Elevate Brands in an all-share deal, raises $64M+

May 31, 2023

E-commerce aggregators have collectively raised hundreds of millions of dollars over the last several years to push ahead on strategies to consolidate a number of smaller online retailers. Now, the aggregators themselves are the ones getting swallowed up. Today, SellerX, a Berlin-based roll-up play that has raised nearly $900 million in equity and debt and […]

SellerX acquires US e-commerce roll-up rival Elevate Brands in an all-share deal, raises $64M+ by Ingrid Lunden originally published on TechCrunch